CROP LINES COLUMN: Tips to avoid prussic acid poisoning

1:30 PM,
Sep. 27, 2013

Written by

Mike Rankin

A 2012 drought, a lot of alfalfa injury this past winter and a wet spring resulted in more than the usual number of local acres planted to sorghum or sorghum-sudangrass hybrids. These species are exceptionally drought tolerant and thrive in hot weather.

As with most things in life, sorghum species have their disadvantages as well. They do not thrive under cool, wet growing conditions and there is the risk for prussic acid poisoning of livestock when forage is harvested soon after a frost. Prussic acid forms in sorghum species that are severely stressed by events such as a frost. The potential ...